Laura Turley

*I do not currently work after 18:30 or at the weekends.

I am a fully insured and registered MBACP Integrative Therapist, Couples Counsellor*, Supervisor and a member of the Westcountry Association of Counsellors, specialising in face-to-face work, in person and online via Zoom.

As an Integrative Therapist I work with my clients using a variety of different counselling models and methods. Although I would describe myself as a person-centred therapist, my methods are entirely client-led and not dictated by any personal preference.

I pride myself on my honest, non-judgmental approach, my empathy and my ability to make genuine, authentic connection with my clients. I strongly believe that the success of any course of counselling lies in the quality of the therapeutic relationship. For this reason, listening to and understanding who you truly are is of paramount importance to me.

I do not view you as someone with a problem that needs to be fixed and myself as the fixer. I do not believe anyone needs to be 'fixed'. Instead I will work with love, humour and creativity with you in your journey towards self-acceptance.

As a writer, musician and illustrator, I have a particular interest in working with people from creative backgrounds

If you're unfamiliar with communicating via Zoom, I can offer a brief initial meeting of 15 minutes free of charge, where you and can familiarise yourself with the app, and with me!

I can also email you my simple-to-understand jargon-free guide to face-to-face counselling online using Zoom.

Note for Couples:
In my experience couples counselling is best undertaken in a face-to-face setting rather than over Zoom, although exceptions can be made for couples in separate locations.

I believe that the primary purpose of supervision is to encourage your development as a reflective practitioner, and that this is best achieved within a supportive, egalitarian relationship, built on trust, honesty, openness and mutual respect.

With this in mind, I aim to create a safe container in which reactions, comments, challenges, feelings and two-way feedback can all be shared.

Contract
Using Peter Hawkins' CLEAR model as a structure, we'll begin each session with a simple five minute contract for what you hope to gain from the day’s work and what - if anything - you want our focus to be on.

Listen
As someone who considers themselves a skilled ‘noticing practitioner’, I place a great deal of importance on listening not just to the words used and their context, but also to my client’s own particular interpretation and meaning of them in order to gain insight into your experience

Explore
Together we'll explore and clarify the issue on hand, and then work to gain insight for both you and your client. I will seek to reveal your potential blindspots and - if helpful - share any parallels I might notice or personal experience I believe might be instructive.

Action
Having explored the issue, we will develop options and discuss a way forward for both you and your client.

Review
We discuss how today's session has been, whether you feel your initial objective has been achieved and what we've agreed on, and then set a date for our next meeting.

Questions for you to ask me during your first session:

- What is your training and experience?
- What are your professional qualifications?
- Is your supervision model compatible with my working model?
- Are you a suitable supervisor for me at this time?
- Can you describe a typical session?
- What will happen if you realise you know one of my clients?
- Do you think we'll be a good match in terms of personalities?

You may also want to talk about or ask questions about aspects of my written contract - eg payment terms, cancellation policy - which I will provide via email before our first meeting.